Running on empty

I'm just completing my third week of half marathon training, and man, I am exhausted. I do nothing but work, train and sleep. In the last three weeks, I've been snowed in twice, and I was assigned an incredibly stressful and time-consuming project at work. Finding time to train would be hard under normal circumstances, but with these added obstacles, it's been a miracle for me to get my miles in. I was diehard at first, running on the snow and ice to meet my goals. But after three weeks of walking around like a zombie, I've missed two or three days of weekday training. BUT, I've already run 31 miles this month (and I have a 5-miler tomorrow {Eek!}), which is more than I've ever run in any month ever.

Before I started training, I was running about 2-3 times a week and doing nothing else. Now I have 6 days of activity, whether it's running, cross training or yoga class, and my body is feeling the strain. I'm following Hal Higdon's half marathon training plan for beginners, but I've altered it to fit my schedule -- making my long runs on Saturday, since that's when the race is, and adjusting some of the days so I can go to speed training with a local running group and hit a Sunday afternoon hot yoga class to stretch out the kinks after my longest run of the week. Here's my plan below (hopefully you can click on the image to see it larger). I followed Hal's schedule for one week before realizing it didn't fit with what I need, so that's why the first week is a little weird compared to the rest.

Because I'm serious about being able to run all the way through this nightmare my goal, I've decided that snow isn't going to stop me from training anymore. Already this year, I've seen too many of these days, when I can't drive anywhere and the roads are too slick for running.

So now this baby greets me every time I come home, and there's no excuse not to lace up my shoes.

And now I know why people call it the dreadmill. Probably doesn't help that the only place I have space for it is in my garage, so I get to spend 3.5 miles staring at my lawnmower.

Tomorrow I have a 5-mile run on the schedule, which is farther than I've ever tried to run. I'm nervous about being able to make it all the way, but at least I'll be able to enjoy an abnormally warm day of 65 degrees and sunshine before we have another snowstorm next week. It helps that this little fortune is stuck to the fridge with my training schedule, always reminding me to push through the pain and stick with my plans.

Happy weekend, y'all!